Medea Benjamin Calls President to Account

While President Obama was delivering remarks about American foreign policy pertaining to the administration’s drone program and practices of indefinite detention at Guantanamo bay, CODEPINK Co-founder, Medea Benjamin, stood up and spoke out several times. She called on the President to use his power as Commander-In-Chief to close Guantanamo prison, release the 86 Guantanamo prisoners who have been cleared for release, and stop the killer drone program that is causing the deaths of innocent civilians, violating international law, and making us less safe here in America. The President responded to her comments by remarking, “the voice of that woman is worth paying attention to.”

“Will you compensate the families of innocent victims?” is one of the questions Benjamin asked. When asked why she spoke out during the President’s speech, Medea Benjamin responded, “We have been so disappointed with Obama; we expected him to to make serious changes like taking drones out of the hands of the CIA, stopping the signature strikes, apologizing to innocents who have been killed, families of the innocent, and announcing that he, as Commander-in-Chief, would close Guantanamo, so when he did not I felt compelled to speak out.”

CODEPINK has launched an urgent call to save the lives of the prisoners on hunger strike in Guantanamo and has been staging actions across DC for the last several weeks. Over 1,200 people from around the world havejoined a rolling hunger strike. Diane Wilson, a CODEPINK activist from Texas, has been on a water-only hunger strike since May 1st. CODEPINK is also organizing a delegation to Yemen in June to meet with drone victims and families of Guantanamo prisoners. CODEPINK also has launched an anti-drone campaign and more information about that can be found at droneswatch.org.

About Medea Benjamin

Medea Benjamin is a cofounder of both CODEPINK and the international human rights organization Global Exchange. She has been an advocate for social justice for more than 30 years. Described as "one of America’s most committed -- and most effective -- fighters for human rights" by New York Newsday, and called "one of the high profile leaders of the peace movement" by the Los Angeles Times, Medea has distinguished herself as an eloquent and energetic figure in the progressive movement. In 2005 she was one of 1,000 exemplary women from 140 countries nominated to receive the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of the millions of women who do the essential work of peace worldwide. In 2010 she received the Martin Luther King, Jr. Peace Prize from the Fellowship of Reconciliation.

Comments

I have to agree with Medea Benjamin. America is no longer the country I grew up in. Obama is talking and things with most likely not change. Window dressing is more like it!

I deeply regret encouraging people to vote Dem! Drone strikes are happening daily to innocent families, these monstrous machines fly over constantly and innocent children live this way. Can we pretend this is not true?

On other matters I have utterly disagreed with Medea Benjamin, but in regards this article I am compelled to protest wanton (even if likely unintentional) misrepresentation of her stance and actions.
This article’s text and title focus on what Medea Benjamin seriously said and when and why she said it. It says nothing about mere ‘heckling’.
Why then does the abbreviated tab label say merely ‘Medea Benjamin Heckled…’ [as if SHE was being heckeled] and why does the expanded tab label say ‘Medea Benjamin Heckled Obama’ [as if she was merely heckling – i.e. rudely interrupting without a real message of her own]?

The Body Politic

Dave Zirin: She is our Jordan. She is our Jim Brown. She is our Babe Ruth, calling his shots. She is no longer content to dodge bullets, but understands how to stop them. Serena is that rare athlete who has not only mastered her sport. She’s harnessed it.